A writer who loves fantasy, avoids reality, and who knows the value of hanging a death skull outside my door to ward off uninvited visitors.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

To Outline, or Fly Free (As some say)

Okay so, today I was on Facebook, and saw a post involving a good friend of mine, Garrett and a friend of his. They were talking about outlines...something I have developed an opinion about, so I weighed in. So it got me thinking about outlines in general.

You know, clearly every author works differently. We all have our own ways of bringing our stories to life. Some like to wing it. Let the story direct itself, with the author being the vehicle. Way back when, during my first attempt to write a novel, I took that path of winging it, and about eight chapters in, found myself absolutely lost. I literally hit the proverbial brick wall, and eventually realized there was no story there. So I abandoned the whole project, set aside my computer, and decided to really get to know the writing life; being a writer since I was a kid, with poems and short stories, I'd never delved into writing an entire book before.

My hubby and I (he's also a writer) often talk about writing, stories, characters; we can literally talk about it for hours on end. He's the one who showed me the value in that little thing called an outline. I'd never considered doing one before. So, when I sat down to write that story that went nowhere, I did it without a plan. How could this happen, I asked myself. I mean, I had started this because I'd heard the voices of my characters in my head, and not in the "Yum, tasty Checkers," sort of way. I was absolutely stumped, and beyond frustrated.

My big mistake was thinking that wanting to write was enough. See, for me, what I learned in an utterly frustrating and most Rogaine-inspired way was that without a plan, there's little to no follow through, and if the end does come, it'll be through a crap load of blood, sweat, tears, broken plates, many collectibles lost in the battle to break through that brick wall I'd hit, and a sudden need to find a hat big enough to cover the bald spots born during this so-called creative process.

Well, when I started working on the Thorne series, I fell so deeply in love with the story and the characters. I mean, I really wanted to do it (and them) justice. So, I took the time (a year, to be precise) to plan everything from the entire series, the characters (and their arcs), to the city, the world, the magic, the history. Hell, I even created stores, shops, shop owners, employees, and all their back-stories, just to really and truly bring this world to life. Then I plotted out all the books, so when I was ready to start writing the first book, I wouldn't fall into that same pit of "give me something to break". When I was done with the outline, the story pretty much wrote itself.

And therein lies the problem some authors see with outlines. Personally, I prefer this method, but like I said, we all need to find our own way of doing things. There are authors who say outlines ruin the process because it deprives them of surprises during the writing process. But, from what I've seen, those authors can sometimes find themselves stuck. Those are the authors who sometimes say they don't know how the story will end, what will happen in the book, or where they're taking it. And that's fine, if it works for them. I personally don't like staring at a blank screen, begging for something to strike. I love sitting around, thinking about the story, picturing it in my head like a movie, hearing the characters talk to each other, and especially those major epiphany-laden "AHA" moments when I unravel a plot point that I'm trying to make as powerful as possible. Authors who plan things out are the ones who can sit down with someone and talk about their work-in-progress.....simply because they know what they're doing with it.

Again, I'm not remotely saying one way is better than another for everyone. It's just the way it works best for me. So, what's your favorite method of writing? Are you a planner or a winger?

I write out the bios for the characters, and add to those as I learn more about them, but whenever I try to use an outline, I veer so far away from it that it's useless. I always have an idea of where I'm going, but I allow the Muse and the characters to chose the path we take to get there! What's great about writing is, it allows each of us to work in whatever way is the most comfortable...there are no 'set rules' demanding strict adherence. (Which is a good thing for me, I always seem to do things differently from everyone else! LOL!)

Absolutely. Whatever works for you, that's the way to go I couldn't agree more about this field, in terms of the freedom to do things our own way. In the end, it is our hard work that gets the job done.

Give me the atmosphere of a dark city street, where the subtle noises of the night remind me that I'm part of the world. -C. L. Freire

I am a writer, pure and simple. It is my passion, and a mind-bending obsession that drives anyone who will listen, crazy. I love the music in words, and the dances we create with our characters, living through them in the span of a page count.

I look forward to the day when I walk into a bookstore and see people lined up to buy my books. I also look forward to the day when some new author looks to me and says, "Thank you for inspiring me to reach for my dreams no matter the obstacles that stand in my way."

As for how I spend my time otherwise, it's with my husband, who's my best friend and the best thing ever to come into my life.

I'm a day dreamer at heart, and quite a silly person who loves to laugh and make others laugh. I tend to give in to my perfectionist side, which sometimes drives people crazy. My dream is to live in NYC with my husband, to explore the city's secrets, and become part of them.